Last Chance
by general wildcat
Summary: Oneshot or two? Chad messed up after graduation and has to make it up to Taylor before they go their separate ways. Can he make it up to her before it's too late, or will he have to follow her out of New Mexico? You know it's C&T!
1. Catching Her

Just a random idea I came up with while I was sitting at school in the commuter's lounge. And I was watching Regis&Kelly as I typed all this. And played a game of Family Feud, which I got my butt kicked at by the way. xD I must apologize for not getting a chance to update anything this weekend. I was called into work Saturday and noon and I was supposed to work till midnight but got out early cause I had homework to finish (which wasn't an excuse, I really did get my writing homework done like two hours after I got home, and my feet were killin me. I went six hours without eating that day.). So anyway, I will try and make up for it this week, though I have an Economics exam on Friday so I may not get much updated on Thursday. Anyway, like I was saying, this is an idea that I came up with, it was originally going to be a oneshot but I'm thinking of making it a twoshot instead. We'll know when we reach the end huh? XD Ok so I will shut up now and just get to it.  
Disclaimer: Never owned HSM, probably never will.

* * *

Chocolate brown eyes shot over to the clock in his room. They were frantic, even as the second hand moved so rapidly around the basketball-shaped timer and the minute hand moved much more slowly. The boy rushed to gather his things together so he could make it out the front door in less than five minutes. Flowers? Check. Chocolates? Check. Super long apology and begging speech all locked up in his head? Check. Hopefully that was everything. Now all he had to do was make a mad dash out of his house….

Car keys! That's what he forgot! The male ran back inside and scurried to pick up his car keys off the credenza and then ran back out to his car. Even as he unlocked the doors and practically threw everything inside, he could still hear his mother calling not to go too far past the speed limit. Hey, even she had to go about five miles an hour in a rush to get to work, but never faster than that. But this boy knew better; he would only go ten miles faster if he had to. And this was a bigger emergency than work.

He had made a terrible mistake and this was his last chance to fix it. If he didn't make things right now then he would lose something more important than some job. What good was having a job if you didn't have someone special to work for anyway? Ok so he didn't necessarily have a job since the last summer, but there was a point to it. He didn't have a job to rush to. He had a person to rush to. And this was his last chance to win her back. Sure he had tried calling her a few times but his friends also claimed that she would need time to cool off before he rushed to talk to her. He gave her that time. No more than a week, because he couldn't take the wait. He was in suspense to know if she would take him back. He had to know what he could do to make everything up to her. But even after all the messages he left her, after all the times he tried talking to her, there were no results. And he felt terrible. He couldn't help but replay the night in and hopefully the one that she would be leaving from.

_Graduation. It was one of the most important times in any person's life. And for these particular teenagers, it was only the beginning. They would all be moving on with new chapters to their lives and new beginnings, and it wouldn't even end there. While excited to get out of high school, not all of the teenagers were eager to start college. They didn't want everything to change._

_The Evans twins would have to get used to being halfway across the country from each other. One would be remaining at home and the other would be heading to a prestigious performing arts college on the East Coast. And the twins were fairly close; sure they were both different in some cases, and one had finally broken apart from the other finished with merely being her sidekick, but that still wouldn't mean that they wouldn't miss each other. They were family and nothing would ever change that._

_Best friends would be torn apart. Troy Bolton and Chad Danforth; Jason Cross and Zeke Baylor; Gabriella Montez and Taylor McKessie. These were pairs who were all so close with each other, whether they grew up together or had clicked from the minute they met. These pairs would be split out throughout America: California, New Mexico, New York, Kentucky, and Connecticut. Long distance friendships and new friendships in college. These were friendships that they didn't want to let go of so easily._

_And what of the couples? They had gotten so close since they all started going out. Sharpay and Zeke were going strong, making promises to see each other every break and share a dinner. And no one could resist Zeke's cooking. And he promised to visit Sharpay for any performances she might have had; he loved seeing her sing and act almost as much as he loved baking. Such a different pair but they were still strong together._

_Kelsi and Ryan had recently gotten together, though it hadn't been anything serious. And with the two of them going to the same college things could only grow from there. The issue in that, however, would be their schedules. Studying, classes, possibly going abroad, etc. Not to mention different majors. Where would they find all the time?_

_East High's power couple, their golden pair, the dynamic duo, were lucky enough to be attending college in the same state. Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez. No one would have ever thought they'd get together. But from the first time they met it was love at first sight. Troy would follow Gabriella to college in California and every weekend they would visit each other and catch up, like their own little break every week. Even though Troy would be pursuing double majors and Gabriella would be working at such a prestigious college, mainly due to academics, they would still find a way around it. They would always go strong._

_And then there were the two that seemed even more doubtful to get together than anyone else. They were even more opposite than Troy and Gabriella and had spent most of their childhood insulting each other. But what no one ever knew was that it was all a cover-up for their real feelings. Chad and Taylor have wanted to date since the start of middle school. But due to their opposing personalities and interests, not to mention with such strong clique systems in middle and high school, it would never work. They got together shortly after Troy and Gabriella did and, despite everyone else's thoughts, they remained together and strong for two years. And even though they would be on opposite sides of the country they would make sure to find a way for their relationship to work. They weren't about to lose it all now._

"_I can't believe we actually graduated." Chad gasped one night. It wasn't even a week after the graduation ceremony and everyone was at Troy's house to celebrate. Close friends and a few other students from East High were all there, and some had even snuck in drinks. Yes, as in alcohol. Luckily that was all, compared to smoking. Hey, some people were sensitive to the smell of smoke and at least drinks were easier to avoid. But that still wasn't going to stop the major Wildcats from having the night of their lives (second best night after prom, of course)._

"_Come on Chad, you knew you were going to graduate." Taylor giggled, rubbing him on his back. "It wasn't that hard."_

"_Nah, I guess not." He smiled and shook his head. He turned to Taylor, his curly bangs brushing against his eyes as he did so. "I had you to help me the whole time."_

"_How sweet." Taylor couldn't help but gush. "But you know it was mostly you. I was just there to hold your hand."_

"_Yeah, and you'll be there to hold my hand while we're in college, too." Chad smiled as he took her hand in his._

_Her face fell slightly as she looked at her boyfriend seriously. "Chad, you can't say that. Not when we're going to be nearly a whole country apart from each other."_

"_But we're gonna work something out. Even if it's just by video chat or something." He promised._

"_Can we talk about this some other time?" Taylor asked. "Not tonight."_

"_Ok." He agreed with a nod. "But you know it has to be before August."_

"_I know." Taylor nodded reluctantly. "But we're supposed to have fun tonight. Can we leave it at that?"_

_The truth was, she knew they'd have to talk about it. They couldn't put it off forever. But Taylor didn't want to be reminded about it. She wanted to forget how far away she'd be from Chad. And she certainly didn't want it to end with a breakup. If they could just go a little longer without talking about it, then they could still enjoy what little time they had left together._

_Chad understood and kissed her on the cheek. "Anything you want, Tay." He promised. "We'll talk about it whenever you're ready before August."_

_Hey, he didn't want to talk about it either. But what choice did they have? The subject couldn't be avoided for long and Chad just wanted to get it over with before it could get any worse. And the last thing he wanted from it was to dump Taylor. Not the best thing that ever happened to him. Not the most important girl in his life. There was no way he was about to lose it all._

"_Hey I'm gonna go get a drink, ok?" he asked. "You want anything?"_

"_No, I'm good right now." Taylor shook her head._

"_Ok." Chad nodded. "Be back in five." He gave her another kiss on the cheek and made his way into the kitchen. He poured himself a cup of soda – yes, he even made sure it was soda before he did anything else – and took a sip from it. He was about to adjourn back into the living room when he ran into one of the cheerleaders, Roxy Hunter. Known to most as a backstabber and a boy-stealer. She had tried her hand at Troy and Zeke, everyone heard, and naturally was unsuccessful. So Chad was the last one she would have a chance at before even going to a community college if she could get in. _

"_Hey there Chad." She greeted almost seductively._

_Chad stopped and turned to the brunette. "Oh hey Roxanne."_

"_Roxy." Se corrected. Why was she going after a guy who never really remembered her name? Oh yeah; because he was one hot man. And a certain other word that everyone knew Chad was. Come on, you know you're thinking it. But Roxy had her own word for it; she had dubbed the majority of the basketball team 'shmexy'. It just sounded good to her. And Chad, Troy and Zeke were the top three on her 'shmexy' list._

"_Right…" Chad nodded slowly. "Look, I've got someone waiting for me in the living room so I should get going…"_

"_Not before we have a little talk. "Roxy said quickly, pulling him back in. She glanced at his drink. "Coke? That's all you're having? Just a coke?"_

"_Yeah." Chad shrugged like it was no big deal._

"_Well you need something stronger. Soda's weak." Roxy replied._

"_No." he shook his head simply. "I don't drink."_

"_Just one sip." Roxy urged. Man he was being so stubborn._

"_Not even a half a sip." Chad replied, becoming annoyed now. "Look my girlfriend is waiting for me. I gotta go back to her."_

_There had to be another way to get him to stick around. So Roxy did the only thing she could think of. She pulled Chad in for a tight kiss. And when Roxy Hunter kissed, she made sure to not let her man get away until she was ready to get him go. And just as she pulled away from Chad a few minutes later, she managed to spike his drink. How? Let's just say she had her ways. And after that it was only a matter of time before everything was taken upstairs. And into Troy's bedroom!_

_It was about an hour later that Troy had found out when he stormed downstairs. Before he could go talk to anyone else, he was stopped by a concerned Taylor._

"_Troy have you seen Chad anywhere?" she asked him. "He said an hour ago he'd be back in five minutes but I haven't seen him since."_

"_Yeah, I saw him." Troy grunted. "And you don't wanna know what he'd doing. Actually, you do wanna know. And then you can go and give him a piece of your mind cause I don't want anything to do with him."_

"_What?" Taylor gasped._

"_He's in my room doin it with the same cheerleader who tried breaking me up with Gabriella last March." Troy explained, pointing to the staircase. "He's actually all over that chick."_

"_I'm sorry Troy, but I can't believe it. Chad would never-" she shook her head._

"_Go up there and see for yourself. I'm done with him." Troy insisted before walking away, just as angry as he was before._

_Taylor just shook her head with wide eyes. There was no way Chad was cheating on her. He had never done that before. They would never do that to each other. They loved each other. At least, Taylor thought so. Hoping to any God-like force that Troy was wrong, Taylor slowly made her way upstairs to Troy's room. The door was opened only a crack, probably from when Troy had walked in. And she could hear moaning coming from inside. There was no way any of those moans could be coming from Chad…just no way._

_But there was a way. As soon as Taylor opened the door to see for herself, her heart cracked inside just before completely crumbling. Chad really was in Troy's room with Roxy and she was watching them going at it right now. Not even wanting to say anything, knowing her voice would crack if she spoke, Taylor just shook her head and let the tears cascade from her eyes before rushing out of Troy's house._

_As soon as Chad came to, he found himself laying next to Roxy. But that couldn't be right. He and Taylor had only done it once and ever since then Chad promised that he wouldn't do it with any other girl. But he just did. And the clothes were all over the floor to prove it. Chad dashed out of the room and tried talking to everyone. But Troy completely ignored him. Gabriella looked at him with a sad, disappointed look before leaving. Even Sharpay looked disappointed, and we're talking about one of the girls who hates Chad's guts (and likewise as far as Chad thinks of Sharpay). And that's when it hit Chad. What if Taylor had caught him? What if she thought he did it all intentionally?_

_The only person who would hear Chad out was Kelsi Neilson. As angry as she was with him, much like everyone else was, she was willing to hear his side of the story and give him the benefit of the doubt – only if he deserved it. And even after hearing his side, Kelsi was still as angry with him as everyone else. But she was willing to give him some advice if he desperately wanted Taylor back. That advice was to give Taylor time to cool off and not try to tackle her with too many confessions at once. After all, Chad would be the last person she'd want to talk to. But Kelsi didn't bother to tell Chad that he broke Taylor's heart with his own carelessness. As soon as Chad would see Taylor's face it would explain it all._

_But Chad had tried talking to Taylor. He couldn't go more than a week without even thinking about her. He left her so many messages, he lost count after ten. But she never called back. She didn't even want to look at him. Chad had messed up big time; there was no other way to say it. And Chad swore then that he would do anything he could to make it up to Taylor before she would board that plane for Yale._

So now here he was, making a mad dash into the airport to try and win his lady back. Chad looked pretty tired as well. It didn't help that he was up almost half the night trying to gather all of his thoughts together, including playing the night back in his head over and over again. Why did he ever even go to get a drink? He could have gotten someone else to do it. Then he wouldn't have gotten drunk (even if it was by accident) and cheated on Taylor.

Everything was planned out. He would find her, beg her for her forgiveness, and make sure he had everything to even follow her if he had to. All Chad had to do was find her. And in a mob of an airport where people constantly walked in and out and around that was going to be difficult. Then he heard the announcement over the intercom. It was a flight for Connecticut. Chad listened for no more than five seconds and then rushed even faster to said gate. Taylor had to be there, he knew it.

And she was. She was gathering her belongings, ready to board the plane and make a fresh start. Forget about her heartbroken summer and forget that she was ever in love with someone. She would only be at Yale for schoolwork and nothing else. But Chad couldn't let that happen.

"Taylor!" he finally called. "Tay!"

That seemed to get her attention; she stopped walking and turned to see Chad. There he was, with flowers and chocolates in a heart-shaped box at hand and nothing but depression in his eyes. And now the sadness Taylor held in her own eyes was being replaced with confusion. Yes, there was still that hint of sadness there, but she was confused at what was going on. Why had he come after her? Why was he forcing her to remember everything? What was he trying to do to her?

Chad saw this as his opportunity to go over to her. He breathed heavily from all the running and stopped in front of Taylor. He offered her the flowers first, but she made no movement to accept them or anything.

"I came to catch you, Tay." He said once he caught his breath. "I came to see you."

But Taylor shook her head. Just the sound of his voice made it all come back. She didn't want to remember. She wanted to push him out of her mind forever.

"Don't. Don't take another step to me." She said quietly, knowing if she talked louder her voice would become shaky and she would fall to pieces.

"Tay, I have to apologize. I wanna make it up to you. I wanted to stop you before you left…" he started.

"Don't." she insisted, her voice already cracking. "Just stay away from me, Chad. I don't want anything to do with you anymore."

Chad took a step back and shook his head. He wasn't about to lose her; he came all this way. "Tay…" he whispered.

"No, stop." Taylor repeated. "Don't 'Tay' me, I'm nothing to you. And you know what, you're nothing to me. So just get out of here, alright? I have a plane to catch." She turned on her heel and stormed through the gates, wiping her eyes with her back turned to him.

"Taylor, no…" Chad tried again. "Taylor, please. Just hear me out! Tay I can't lose you again…." The doors were already closing as the last passenger walked through to catch that plane. "Tay I love you!" he called once more, the loudest he could as those doors closed. He breathed heavily once more, but not from all the running this time. Chad didn't care that so many people were just staring at him now. He didn't care that his own eyes were watering up. He didn't care that he was standing alone in an airport after losing his lover. He just wanted her back. He needed to be near her, to make sure she was safe, to be there for her, just to love her. And he was going to find a way around it.

He gathered himself together and wiped his eyes, clutching the flowers even tighter. Chad took a deep breath and walked over to the nearest counter. The lady looked at him with mixed feelings. She had sympathy for him, but Chad didn't look like he wanted it. But she remained professional, to the best of her ability.

"You need to go after her, don't you?" she asked. She had viewed enough lovers and their quarrels before one left to know when something like that was about to happen.

Chad nodded and forced the words out of his mouth. Even if Taylor didn't want him near her, even if she wanted nothing to do with him, he still had something to prove. And even if it meant skipping out on U of A he would do it.

"One ticket for the next flight to Connecticut."

* * *

Yup, it's gonna be a two-parter then. Hey if this was supposed to be a sad ending it'd all end here. But obviously it's not so that means there's gotta be a happy ending somewhere up ahead, right? Well just read the second part and you'll see for yourself. 0=)


	2. Divided or United?

Ok so here's hoping for a happy ending here! I am going to try and make up for any lost time on adding to my stories so as far as the rest of this week and this weekend go I will see what I can do. And with an Economics test on Friday and one class on Thursday, that should give me just enough time for one chapter Thursday, and then I will make up for everything else over the weekend. And I have finally gotten the HSM3 DVD. I am a very happy person. ^^ If I may say, one of my favorite scenes was when Chad and Troy stole Jimmie's and Donnie's clothes and they lead the sophomores right into the auditorium in their towels. Hilarious! C= Ok, I'll shut up now.  
Nope, still not owning it.

* * *

About a week has passed since her arrival at Yale University, but Taylor was finally completely settled into her dorm room. She had met her roommate Vicky, who was actually a lot nicer than people assumed. All because her name rhymed with Icky, courtesy of "The Fairly Oddparents". But the girls were hitting it off rather well. The problem was when Vicky started talking about her boyfriend back home in New Jersey. Taylor tried to seem interested, she really did. But it all brought back memories of her and Chad. All the things he did for her, all the good times they shared. Taylor had actually thought that he had done all those things for her out of love. But they were all lies. Chad never loved her. If he did then he wouldn't have been making love to Roxy Hunter. So thanks to that party, Taylor personally got her heart stomped on.

No, it wasn't the party's fault; it was her own. It was her fault for actually thinking that there was more to Chad than his curly hair, good looks, and sports. But she was wrong. He was no different from almost every other boy out there. He took advantage of her and he crushed her. So Taylor swore she would never fall for anyone again. No matter what, it would only lead to heartache. And she didn't want to feel that anymore. Not again.

So Taylor didn't talk about her love life to her new found friend. She didn't mention ever having a crush or being in love with anyone or even dating anyone. As far as Taylor was concerned, her love life was done. And she was just glad that Chad was still in New Mexico.

But the sad thing was, part of her wanted to hear him out instead of worrying about catching her plane. She wanted to know if he really was sorry. But to just bring flowers and chocolates? A romantic gesture for a date, perhaps, but not for trying to win a girl back. Although they were roses, which happened to be her favorite…. No! Taylor wasn't going to start thinking about what could have been. Chad was left in the dust to go hurt more girls and that was all that mattered. Taylor didn't care anymore. At least, she was trying not to.

What she didn't know was what Chad had been planning all along. To follow her to Connecticut and actually stay there with her…well, sort of. But there was still the matter of finding her. And just because he knew what college she was at didn't know he meant her exact whereabouts. Yale had a fairly big campus, not to mention numerous dorms and multiple classes. To locate Taylor in the same place every day would be miracle enough. And Chad needed a miracle. Taylor…she didn't know what she needed.

What she really needed to do, as unaware of it as she was, was to stop listening to her head all the time. Everything had to be all logic and facts. But relationships weren't; nothing was ever set in stone. Taylor listened to her head when she left New Mexico without hearing Chad out. And as hurt as her heart still was from him, part of it still yearned for him. That was the part she was still trying to put back together. She wanted to put it back together without the thought of Chad in it. The question was, could she do it?

The weeks began to pass by slowly, and as much as Taylor wanted to focus on her schoolwork she knew she couldn't completely do it. Perhaps part of her was still adjusting. No one took to college right away and it was a big step from high school, especially when no one that Taylor grew up with was anywhere near her. But the other part of her, she knew it was from Chad. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't get him out of her head. The good times they had, not that one last memory of them. He had tried so hard to contact her after that. There were still all those messages left on her cell phone; she never even bothered to listen to them because just the sound of his voice, no matter how upset or anything else it was, it'd still bring tears to her eyes remembering that night. But Taylor didn't know what killed her more. Remembering what he did to her, or knowing that he was no longer beside her. But it didn't matter now. She had pushed him away. So now there couldn't be any harm in listening to the messages. It wouldn't make any difference; it was already too late.

That night, while Vicky was at her late class, Taylor remained in their dorm room just staring at her phone. She did that for as long as she could, trying to will herself to listen to the unheard voice messages from Chad. But for a while Taylor couldn't think to listen to his voice. Finally convincing herself after a good hour or so (and thankfully Vicky's last class as for two and a half hours) that there was nothing left to lose, Taylor accessed her voice mail and began with the very first message, starting from what she remembered as a week after the party.

"_Tay it's me. Can we please talk? I need to tell you something. It's about the party. Ok, I know you don't wanna talk to me right now but I have to talk to you. It wasn't my fault, Tay. If I knew what I was getting myself into I never would've even went into the kitchen. Look just please let me explain? You can do whatever you want to me after that. Call me back please? Love you."_

"_Tay did you get my message? I really have to talk to you. I'm sorry about last week, it was a big mistake. I never even wanted anything to do with Roxy. She cornered me and after she kissed me the next thing I remember was waking up beside her. No wait, that came out totally wrong. I mean, she kissed me but I never kissed her. She was trying to trick me. Please just let me explain? Don't hate me forever Tay? I love you."_

"_Tay I know you must really, really hate my guts right now but can I please tell you the whole story? I need to tell you what happened. I don't have any feelings for Roxy and I never did. You're the only girl I want, Tay. Please just call me back?"_

_"Tay, whatever rumors you hear they're not true! Roxy's just trying to get me to stay with her. She's feeding people all these lies about how I got her pregnant. I never did, I know it. I only wanna do that to you! No wait, that came out wrong again. I meant that if I could have a baby with anyone…oh man, I'm getting it all screwed up now aren't I? Look can we please just talk? I can even make reservations tonight at your favorite restaurant. You can order anything you want, even if you wanna throw it at my face. I'll be waiting."_

"_Tay you can't avoid me forever. I wanna talk to you. I need to talk to you. Please, just five minutes? I can't just not see you. I have to talk to you. Even just one minute if you want, I'll do anything. Please just call me back even if you're gonna yell at me? I wanna hear your voice and not just 'Hey you've reached Taylor. I've probably got a ton of homework right now so leave a message and I'll call back when I'm done.'. Please just hear me out? Before we start college? I love you, Tay."_

Each message got more depressing than the next. Taylor could hear the tone in Chad's voice softening and feeling worse with each one. It hurt her on the inside and even if she was alone in her room she still refused to show how she felt. These were all the messages she had missed, how desperate and upset he sounded. Sure, it got to a point after the next message when he started repeating a few things but Taylor could tell he still felt horrible. So what if he was telling the truth? Or what if it was just his pathetic attempt to get her back and hurt her? Taylor didn't want to go through that again, but at the same time she didn't know how much longer she could go without being anything with him or even being a hundred miles away from him. She'd rather have him somewhere in Connecticut than all the way in New Mexico.

Finally, she got to the last message and her eyes swelled up even more. She couldn't hold it in much longer.

"_Tay, please. You leave for college in a week. I can't not see you before then. I've tried all summer to talk to you. Do you really hate me that much not to call me back? I just wanna tell you what happened. You can believe me or not or whatever, I don't care. I just wanna see you. Even if you yell at me I'll still be happy to see you, to just hug you one more time. Please, Tay. I love you. That's not gonna change. Call me back before you go? I'll come see you at the airport…for old time's sake. I'd do anything to get you back. I'm gonna prove it even if it's while you leave. I've missed you Tay, and I'm still gonna miss you. So if you meet any guys at Yale that try to do something to do…give them a good punch in the arm for me? Good luck at Yale. I still love you. Bye, Taylor."_

That was the last of them. Twenty-six messages in counting. Well, somewhere around that number, anyway. Honestly, she had lost count after five. Why did he have to sound so sad? Oh yeah...because she never returned his calls and made him feel unloved. But he made her feel unloved first. But still, why did his voice have to be so...so...well, Chad? And now, especially thanks to those messages, Taylor couldn't get him out of her head. Slowly putting the phone down, she pulled her knees into her chest and wrapped her arms around them. It was all finally hitting her. Even though she knew she shouldn't forgive Chad after what he pulled, she still knew that he nodded the benefit of the doubt. This was Roxy she was thinking about, so odds were at least seventy-five percent out of hundred that it had been her fault. Ok, so maybe it was more like ninety-five percent, but Taylor had to listen to her head on that part. The thing was, however, that her head couldn't tell her how to feel the way her heart did.

It was around an hour or so later that Vicky had walked back into the dorm room. She slowly closed the door behind her, though only left it opened a crack. She brushed some red curly locks away from her barely tanned face as she put her books down on the nearby desk. "Hey Tay." she greeted like it was any other night.

But it wasn't like any other night. Taylor was curled up on her bed on her side of the room, her back facing the door as well as Vicky. She didn't respond to her roommate's greeting or even acknowledge that she had walked in.

"Hey what's wrong?" Vicky asked, walking over. She sat down on the edge of Taylor's bed and gently rubbed her back. She could swear she heard faint sobs coming from Taylor. "Why so depressed? You got out of class three and a half hours before I did."

"It's not that, Vicky." Taylor shook her head quietly as she only barely removed it from her knees.

"Ok...what is it then?" she wondered.

Taylor wiped her eyes and sat up to face Vicky slightly. "I did something terrible. And there's no way I can fix it."

"What makes you say that?" Vicky quirked an eyebrow. "Sure doesn't sound like the Taylor I've seen yet. Have you been faking who you were this whole time?"

"Not exactly." Taylor replied.

"Care to fill me in?" she asked.

Taylor wiped her eyes once more and tried her best to talk without falling apart again. And even if she did, at least it wouldn't be as bad as if Chad were there. "Back home there was someone I had. I caught him with another girl and didn't want to speak to him since." She gestured towards her phone, "I just listened to every message he left over the summer tonight."

Vicky slowly picked up Taylor's phone. Waiting a minute to see if Taylor would object, she then listened to some of the messages Chad had left. She slowly put the phone down after hearing a few of them. "He sounded really upset." Was all she could say.

"That's an understatement." she sighed. "He tried to catch me at the airport before I left. And I didn't hear him out. And now he probably wouldn't even talk to me if I called him."

Vicky seemed to pause for a minute as her eyes quickly scanned the room before looking back at Taylor. "Well what makes you say that?"

"He tried to catch me when I was at the airport. And I wouldn't hear him out. I walked right out on him." Taylor answered in near fragments, feeling fresh tears threatening to fall just thinking about it.

"Maybe you're just blowing this out of proportion. He's probably still trying to figure out how to make it up to you." Vicky suggested.

"I doubt it. I wouldn't blame Chad if he never wanted to speak to me again." Taylor choked. "And if something like this would always be a final product then I don't think I could allow myself to love anyone again."

Vicky's look softened, also aware that she would have to evacuate the room shortly. "Hey don't try and act so stubborn. We've all been there. Why do you think I blab on and on about my boyfriend so much?" She stood up and rubbed her friend's shoulder. "Look, you're not in New Mexico anymore. You've gotta let yourself shine here where everyone can see you. Because no one should be all down right when they start at their dream college. And if everything you're saying now really is coming from your heart then maybe you should listen to it more often." Taking this as her cue to now exit the room, Vicky headed to the door. "I'm going to grab a late night dinner. Call me in an hour if you still want to be alone, ok?" Seeing only a single nod from Taylor, the freshman took her leave, still leaving the door opened a crack.

So now Taylor sat alone on her bed one more. Nothing but silence and a single sigh filled the room. No one was in there except Taylor and her thoughts. Now she was wishing she had convinced Vicky to stay. Taylor had always given her friends advice when they really needed it. And now Taylor was the one who needed the advice and she couldn't seem to find the right encouragement to give herself. Not even five minutes had passed and she already reached for her phone again. Scrolling through her files, she ended up opening a small folder that contained pictures of her and Chad, or just Chad. Her eyes evidently fell on the last one she took of him; it was just before the graduation ceremony at East High and Chad had been struggling to squeeze the cap on over his incredibly curly hair. With a goofy smile on his face, the cap rested at the tip of his hair as though it were almost ready to fall off.

A sad smile came across Taylor's face as she stared at the picture and she looked at it ruefully. "I was so stupid to let you go." she whispered to herself.

"Hey now, I think that's my line." a male's voice came from inside the dorm room.

Taylor's head shot up. That voice...she knew that voice! Slowly turning around her eyes finally landed on Chad, who was gently closing the door behind him. Taylor couldn't believe it, but he was there. In all of his tall, athletic, and curly-haired...what was the proper word? Self? Glory?

As Taylor was lost in her thoughts, Chad placed his hands in his jeans pockets and sheepishly walked closer to her bed. He just stood there, not sitting beside her or making any sudden movements. He didn't even remember how long he's been planning this anymore. Maybe a week or so? Man, he didn't even attend his own college yet and he didn't really tell his parents where he was. He was really hoping that somehow this would all work out or else he might not get another night of freedom to do anything else thanks to the lifetime grounding his parents would most likely hand him.

Chad rubbed the back of his head, becoming a tad nervous at Taylor's silence. "I...kinda came here to see you..." he admitted. "I mean...I wanted to explain what happened...if you'll let me."

"But how did you...?" she started, that being all she got out so far.

"I took a plane in after yours. You don't even wanna know what I've been doing to stay here and avoid going back home." Chad explained. "I've been trying to come here and find you for days, and then today your roomate...kinda found me. She said it wasn't too hard to figure out who I was looking for, cause there's five other Taylor's on campus and they're all guys." He smiled slightly, hoping to hear her laugh from his true yet joking statement. But as much as Taylor would have liked to even giggle at that, nothing or the sort escaped her lips. Chad's face fell at her continued silence. "I guess I didn't realize how much you hated me." he said quietly.

Taylor looked up at him and shook her head. "No." she responded. Chad raised an eyebrow from confusion and Taylor slowly removed herself from her bed. She walked over to Chad and wrapped her arms around him. "I don't hate you, Chad."

Chad didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around her in an embrace, though part of him still afraid that it would cause her to pull away. "Tay, please just let me explain..." he started.

"Don't." she shook her head quietly. "I should have just listened to you instead of walking away. I should have believed you no matter what you said because I would trust you over some cheerleader any day."

"You had every right to give me your usual cold shoulder." Chad said. "I just wish you would have let me talk to you instead of leaving all those messages that you never replied to."

"I never even listened to them until tonight." Taylor confessed. "To just think about that night or to even hear your voice...it hurt. And I wanted to put it off for as long as I could. But it was wrong." She paused and took a deep breath, "And I was wrong."

"Vicky's right, you know. You don't have to listen to your head all the time. Sometimes you gotta trust your heart more than anything else." Chad shrugged. "How do you think I got here?"

"I guess your heart's as big as your hair." Taylor said, the thought of it making her smile a little.

Chad chuckled faintly at her comment. "I should probably grow my hair out a little more then, huh?" he joked.

Taylor's smile grew and she shook her head, feeling better already. She picked her head up and looked at Chad, not moving out of his arms. "Got enough room in there for a stubborn, hard-headed brainiac?" she wondered.

"Only if that stubborn, hard-headed brainiac's you." he replied with a smile, looking her in the eyes. "I love you, Tay."

Taylor smiled back as her eyes met with his. "I love you, too."

"So much for you not loving again, huh?" Chad teased.

Taylor's eyes widened. "Chad!" she gasped. "How much of my conversation did you hear?"

"Almost all of it." he had to chuckle.

Taylor squirmed out of his embrace. "Ok, get out of my dorm room and onto the next plane to New Mexico. You're already failing all of your classes by not showing up."

"What if I transferred somewhere around here next semester?" Chad asked hopefully.

"Ask me in about a year." she answered simply.

"Hey!" Chad gasped. He tried to get a hold of her again but Taylor kept backing away. He ended up backing her into the door with no escape. "I've got you now." he teased, his arms going around her. He rested his forehead against hers, his bangs resting on top of her head.

"And wherever are we going with this?" Taylor inquired as innocently as she could, placing her hands on his shoulders.

"We're going to forgive each other, we're going to talk, we're going to make up for lost time..." Chad answered in a flirty tone, "...and we're gonna do some of this." He kissed Taylor gently yet filled with passion. She kissed him back and didn't even bother to pull away or even try to. As the kiss deepened Chad moved one arm around her waist and rubbed her back with his other hand. Taylor's hands migrated to cup his cheeks and occasionally brushed some hair away from his face. It went on like that until Taylor's cell phone went off. She and Chad reluctantly pulled away from each other and Taylor answered it.

"Hello?" she asked.

And a very content Vicky was on the other end. "So how is ti going in there?" she teased. "How much longer do you want me to stay out for?"

Taylor smiled at thought for a minute. She looked at Chad, and then returned to the very brief conversation with her roommate. "Think you can stay kicked out of the room for a couple more hours?" she asked. "I've got some catching up to do."

"Ok, but you know the dorm's gotta be clear of all visitors by eleven." Vicky shrugged.

"That should give us plenty of time." Taylor smiled. "See you then." She hung up her phone and turned back to Chad, who was now playfully fiddling with her hair. Taylor giggled and wiggled away from him as he pushed her bangs out of her face. "We can fool around later." she told him. "You're in enough trouble with your parents and we'll be lucky to have three hours to ourselves."

"You must really wanna get rid of me then." Chad joked.

Taylor looked at him seriously with her hands on her hips. "Never in my dreams, Chad." she replied. "Now help me find my 'do not disturb' sign. Unless you want someone to walk in on us when we have a moment?" She started looking through her side of the room to see where she put the sign to hang on the outside doorknob.

But Chad shook his head and smiled as he picked up a loose sock from the floor. Typical lazy Chad. "Can't we use this instead?"

Taylor turned to him and she covered her mouth in a minor fit of giggles. "That's not my sock, you know."

Chad paused, seeming disturbed at first. But then again, anything that could go on a door handle was a sign, right? And he missed enough time with Taylor as it was.

"After everything else that went down," he finally smiled, "I think this'll do just fine."

* * *

Lame ending, much? Well, I think so, I dunno about you. Besides now it's after midnight and I gotta wake up at six tomorrow so that's enough reason to stop there, right? o_0 Ok, maybe not so call me lazy if you wish. I do it all the time, you can do! I encourage it. ^^ Ok so that's it for now so I will update another story next chance I get. And since I've got nothing else to say at the moment, I will end if off with.... Good night!


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